Method of manufacturing electrodes.



UNITED STATES a rENT OFFICE.

HUGH 10ml, YITTBBYIRGH. PENNSYLVANIA. ASSIGNOR. BY MESNE ASIION- m TO ran ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERY COM?ANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PINNIYLVUXA, A CORPORATION 01" NEW JERSEY.

1,013,445, Io Drawing.

Specification 0! Letter: Patent.

Application lied April 0, 1807. Serial Ito. 307,054.

XI'IH OD 01' MANUFACTURING ELECTRODE!- lutentedJau. 2,1912.

Tonll whomitmay concern:

Be it known that I. llt'on Burma s, a eitizenof the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful Invention in Methods of Manufacturing Eleetmdes, of which the followii is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing electrodes and has for an object the production of negative plates in which the active mass is impregnated w th an inert material for the purpose of resisting shrinkage of the active mass and mumtaining the stern e capacity of the plates. This and other 0 jects, which will be made apparent in the following specification, are attained by adhering tp the method embodted in my invention. a

My invention is broad in its scope and, while it may be carried out in a number of diil'erentways and utilized in connection with a number of different materials, I will, for the sake of simplicity and clearness, describe a e ciiic embodiment thereof with no idea 0 limiting myself to the specific etc 5 of the process described or the mate ria utilized.

invention A specific embodiment of my 1 t 0d e co r es contemplates the formation 0 from barium lead alloy, the forming of the aha active material of the electrodes by the Plant process and reduein r the barium of the alloy to an inert salt, either during or subsequent to the formation of the active material.

The barium alloy is made by subjectiu" a fused mass of barium salt, wlneh preferablv contains someplher barium compound, sue i as the hydroxid, to electrolysis, using a carbon or graphite anode, and a cathode of molten lead. By passing the current as indicated through thefused' electrolyte, metallic barium is deposited upon the surface of the molten lead and is mixed therewith by any suitable means of stirring, Thebarium,

lead alloy is then molded or pressed into suitable for use as storage battery pie. ea or parts thereof. The plates or parts,

or parts made from pure lead or the ordi nary lead alloys, are then subjected to anv of the well known processes .of Pl'antfoimation. They are, for e rample, made .tho

Letters Patent is: which are similar in appearances to plates anode in an electrolyte comprising a suitable mixture of sulfuric and. nitric acid. The electrolytic action changes the surfaces of the lead alloy into lead peroxid, which, ill the ease of the barium alloy, as distiu uished from .the other alloys or pure lead, IRS intimatel ditl'used throughout its mass finely divided barium sulfate,-tho sulfate being formed by the reaction between the metallic barium of the alloy and the sulfuric acid of the electrolyte.

After the peroxid has been reduced to sponge lead, the plates cons itute negative pole plates with the active mass im regnated with finely divided barium su fate. The impregnation of the active mass with the inert barium sulfate prevents the shrinkage and closing up of the pores of the mass, and, therefore, maintains .he storage capacity of the electrode so formed.

Other metals besides barium may beatilized in forming the lead alloy and other means maybe employed for converting the metals into inert salts, for the per use of impregnating the active mass of tie electrodes; for example, a number of the metals of the barium group may be utilized in forming the lead al oy and they may be subsequently redueed'to inert salts in preeisely the same way'as the barium is re dueed, or by methods better suited to the metals utilized. The alloy may be cast in molds or pressed in the form-of grids or pellets, which may be subsequently a plied to storage battery use, or as implied y the description, the alloy may be cast in the shape of an electrode and the active mass may be formed from the metal of the-electrodes. v Inaccordance with'the provisions of the patent; statutes, I have described amethod ofcarrymg'outmy invention which I now consider to. represent the best embodiment thereof, butI desireto have it understood that.oth er methods. may be employed and invention.

. What I claim and desire to secure by v1.: {The method-of manufacturing storage battery electrodes, which consists in forrnin an electrode of a barium lead alloy, convertng'a pgrtmnof the lead of the electrode into active material and a: portion of the still-fall within thespirit and scope of my.

2 norm-us alloy, preasmg or molding the alloy into suitable shows, convertin a portion of the lead into a'ctive materia and reducing a portion of the barium to an inert salt.

4. The method of manufacturing storage battery electrodes containing inert material which consists of forming an electrode of a metallic alloy, convertin a portion of one of the metals of said al oy into active material, and a portion of another metal of the alloy into an inert salt.

5. The method of manufacturin storage battery electrodes containing inso able inart material, which consistsin forming an electrode of a metallic alloy, converting a portion of one metal of the alloK into active material, and a portion of anot er metal of the alloy into an inert substance.

6. As an article of manufacture, a storage battery electrode. comprising a plate, a 01:- tion of which is formed of barium lead a loy and a portion of sponge lead impregnated with an insoluble barium salt.

, 7. An article of manufacture, comprisin a storage battery electrode a portion 0 which is formed of a lead alloy and a portion of which consists of s onge lead impregnated with a salt forme from the other metal of the alloy.

l 8. As an article of manufacture, a storage battery electrode, comprising a plate, a 1 portion 0' which is formed of a metallic from one of the metals of said alloy and permeated with an insoluble salt of another i metal of said alloy.

l 9. As an article of manufacture, a storage a battery electrode, a portion of which com- 5 l prises a metallic alloy, carrying active material formed from one of the metals of the i alloy and permeated with an insoluble salt formed from another metal of said alloy.

or material to become active for use in storage battery electrodes which consists in forming the same of an alloy of lead and a second material and then converting a porseeond material into inert substance.

in part of a lead alloy, the lead constituent of which has been converted into active macompound disseminated throughout the entire mass.

12. The method of making active ma-' which consists in c onverting r. lead alloy into a mass comprising an active i'ead compound and an intermingled insoluble inert (luanens W. McGnas, E. \V. MeQ-mms'rsa.

alloy, a portion of metallic sponge formed 5 10. The method of making active material 65 tion of the lead into active material and the It. A storage battery electrode consisting terial and the alloy constituent of which has been converted into an insoluble inert terial for use in storage battery electrodes compound, the latter being formed from the 

